The French naturalist and explorer Jacques Labillardière described Cenarrhenes nitida in 1805, from a location described as in capite Van Diemen (Tasmania).

[1] The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words kenos 'empty' and arrhen 'male', referring to the four staminode-like hypogynous glands.

[4] In 1998 Sara Hoot and Andrew Douglas analysed chloroplast sequences and found that Cenarrhenes was sister to a clade comprising the three genera Stirlingia, Conospermum and Synaphea.

In this scheme, Cenarrhenes is located within the subfamily Proteoideae on account of it having cluster roots, a solitary ovule and indehiscent fruits.

[12] The fruit of C. nitida are a fleshy drupe, which closely resemble commercial plums from the genus Prunus, hence the common name.

[11] Cenarrhenes nitida is endemic to southern and western Tasmania and some of its islands, growing to an altitude of 800 m (2,600 ft),[8] and reaching the margins of the alpine zone.

It occurs most often as an understory tree to small shrub in wet sclerophyll forests and rainforest with poor soils and occasionally in heath, button grass sedgeland and scrub.

Cenarrhenes nitida is a slow growing plant which requires a cool, moist, shady site with well composted soils and preferably good drainage.